ARCHIVED: What is a flame?

In Internet parlance, a flame is a posting to a
newsgroup, mailing list, or similar forum that attacks
another person or group of people, usually in response to an earlier
posting.

People post flames for a variety of reasons. Sometimes discussions of
emotional issues in newsgroups degenerate into angry name-calling.
Sometimes new users posting to a newsgroup are flamed for not being
familiar with the content of the discussion or not showing proper
netiquette (Internet manners). And sometimes people flame one another
because they are aggressive, rude, or short-tempered.

Because flames often involve personal insults, they can destroy the
possibility of further constructive discussion. They can also waste
network resources and frustrate people who are trying to carry on
substantive discussions. Responses to flames may also take other
unpleasant forms, such as email harassment or complaints to system
administrators. Ask yourself the following questions before posting a
flame:

Will you later regret posting this?

Are you sure you haven't misinterpreted what the previous poster wrote?

Was the person you are responding to trying to get
attention or provoke angry responses from others? (This is usually
called "trolling".)

Would you be insulted if someone responded to one of your own
posts in this way?

Is this a personal matter in which other readers will have little
or no interest?

Should you resolve the issue by personal email instead of posting?

Please try to deal with flames constructively, and in general avoid
flaming others. You will help make the Internet a much more enjoyable
forum for discussion.